Flashbulb
by macrauchenia
Summary: "I heard that the Gourmet is backing those rumors," the bartender purrs with a sleek smile. "He's offering a pretty prize for anyone who can bring home the Anteiku Prince." - With the clock ticking, Hide scrambles to catch the opportunity of a lifetime before another claims it. All he needs to do now is find and train a suitable lookalike to be the infamous Eyepatch. [Anastasia!AU]
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing.

 **Author's Note:** Alright. Well, this story will be a bit different from my others for a few reasons. I'll explain more at the end, but for now just know that although the plot relies heavily on canon events (primarily from the manga), there are a few things that deviate a bit. Particularly in terms of a character's status (since pretty much everyone was missing or dead after the Anteiku raid and I can't work with that) or their backstory. Hopefully all will make sense in later chapters, but for now, Hide, Amon, and Seidou are happy and healthy while working at the CCG post-raid.

Anyway, this is the obligatory Anastasia!AU fic for the Tokyo Ghoul fandom. Please enjoy!

* * *

 **Flashbulb  
** A flashbulb memory is a detailed and vivid memory that is stored on one occasion and retained for a lifetime.  
[It is important to note that flashbulb memories are not necessarily accurate in every respect, but they demonstrate that the emotional content of an event can greatly enhance the strength of the memory formed.]  
\- Catherine E. Myers

* * *

If Hideyoshi Nagachika were to describe his perfect day, it would most certainly _not_ include a mountain of paper work and an unbearably annoying clock, which is ticking far too slowly in his opinion.

Needless to say, today is not a perfect day. On a scale from one to ten, he thinks he would actually rate the day as a sub-four, because after all, that clock is incredibly infuriating.

As he glances from the towering pile of unsolved files to the significantly smaller pile of solved cases, he wonders what possessed him to accept the promotion in the first place. Although the offer seemed excellent on paper, Hide is currently beginning to question his once sound judgment. After being chained solely to his desk for two weeks, he realizes how much he missed his previous job as an investigation assistant. At least he could still roam freely around the building, even if it was to deliver papers or fetch coffee for his superiors.

Now as a junior investigation analyst, he does little else except scour page after page of outdated records in hopes of finding an obscure connection to one of the CCG's countless open cases.

He drums his fingers against the cool metal of his desk, wishing the muted sound could drown out the relentless ticking of the clock.

He really hates that damn clock.

Hide sighs and reaches for another case file off the gigantic pile. He hums nonchalantly while he casually flips through the hefty folder that's dated five years before his birth year.

 _I really doubt any ghoul that killed_ that _many people would be still around after nearly thirty years,_ he reasons, aching to fling the aged file aside. He feels his eyes glaze over as he taps the end of his pen against the yellowed paper in time with the beat of the song in his head.

 _What I need is a fresher case. All of these files are too stale to be of any use._

Hide groans and tosses the folder to the side. He stifles a yawn, bringing his slender fingers to his mouth and patting his lips gently. He turns his weary gaze back to the giant stack of files, wondering if it would be really worth it to try to start thumbing through another case before his lunch break. He decides to compromise, carefully sliding the largest folder out of the pile and tucking it under his arm as he stiffly unfolds his cramped body out of his desk chair.

 _I'll just take it to lunch with me,_ he settles, figuring his superiors can't fault him for slacking off if he works through his break. To make sure that _everyone_ knows he's working overtime, Hide purposefully ambles past the multiple meeting rooms on his way out the main door, brushing off eager compliments on his work ethic with an embarrassed smile.

Hide shifts the folder to the other arm as he waits for traffic to clear. Even though the papers inside are most likely useless and he probably won't even bother to glance through them at lunch, they at least made him look good, even if just for a forgettable moment. At this point, he's praying for any miracle that can lift him or drop him from desk work.

He crosses the street and makes a sharp left, deciding to spare his favorite hamburger joint a few moments of his time.

On the way, he passes by a popular café, often frequented by many of the investigators during their lunch break. He catches a flash of blonde and hears Seidou's dejected whine rise over the gentle murmur of the customers' conversations. Hide grins and waves at his former team, seated at one of the outside tables. His feet automatically move in their direction; he's desperate for some sort of human interaction that doesn't revolve around dusty files.

"Hello, Amon-san! Hello, Akira-san and Seidou-san!" he calls, wandering towards their table. "Fancy seeing you here."

He's immediately pinned by Akira's flat expression. It's not quite a friendly greeting, but it's significantly warmer than the glare she had offered when they had first met.

"We eat here every week," she states, freeing him from her basilisk stare with a slow blink. "We did it when you were with us, and we still do now."

"Ah, yes. How could I forget?" Hide chuckles weakly, rubbing at the back of his neck.

"How's your new job?" Seidou spares a moment from chewing to look at his former teammate. "We miss you," he adds. Hide has a feeling the pronoun should be a bit more _singular,_ judging by the others' blank stares _._

"Oh… It's…fun," he answers with a forced grin, resisting the urge to rub the back of his neck again. A disbelieving bark of laughter rumbles from Amon's throat before he conceals it with another mouthful of food. His mentor's uncharacteristic snicker further proves Hide's steady affirmation that his job is comparable to hell.

 _If even_ Amon _is laughing at me, things really are bad._

"Really? It sounds awful." Seidou at least has the dignity to look sympathetic.

Hide's shoulders drop and he utters a pitiful laugh, partially relieved to vent his frustrations. "It's awful," he admits. "There's so many old files I have to sort through," he continues, "but most of them are completely useless. I feel like I'm doing absolutely nothing."

Akira's eyebrow lifts in a rare expression of amusement. "If you're as completely useless as you say, you'll be demoted soon. Then you can come back to us and we can finally have warm coffee again."

"Hey!" Seidou interrupts with an affronted scowl. Hide tries to cover his growing smile with little success. Apparently, in his absence, someone else had been downgraded to errand boy.

 _No wonder Seidou wants me back the most._

"That…actually doesn't sound too bad," Hide shrugs with a wry smile, surprised by the honesty in his voice. Now that he's standing on the outside of his old squad, he realizes that he sorely misses their company, even if two-thirds of the group genuinely terrifies him.

"Just give me a few more weeks and I'll be back to running for coffee," he offers them a wide smile before nodding politely and backing away. If he actually wants to eat, he'll have to leave soon before the lunch crowd alights on Big Girl.

He takes another step backwards, ramming the back of his thigh painfully into the corner of another table. He hears a startled gasp and rattling china. Hide quickly spins around and automatically slams a palm on the table to stabilize it, nearly knocking off a quivering coffee cup. Although the action was intended to stop the table's rocking, he thinks he's only frightened the poor stranger even more.

A young man about his age blinks at him, clearly disoriented by the rapid unfolding of events. Hide supposes he would be a bit alarmed too if a stranger had forcibly thrown himself into his table and then almost shoved his coffee off the edge.

"Ah…sorry," Hide weakly stutters, trying to ignore the muted sound of Seidou's chuckles in the background or the obvious gawks from the other customers. He's relieved to notice that the young man hadn't ordered anything apart from his cup of coffee; the situation would have been infinitely worse if Hide had caught the rim of a plate and sent pieces of food somersaulting through the air.

He apologizes again and turns back around, hurriedly rushing out of the outdoor dining area. Once he's at a safe distance from the entire ordeal, he spares a curious glance over his shoulder, catching the shell-shocked stranger shake his head before returning to his book.

 _No harm, no foul,_ Hide assures himself as he whistles his way towards lunch.

* * *

As he had correctly predicted, Hide had spent his entire lunch break inhaling as many fries as possible, completely ignoring the discarded file to the side of the table.

Sitting again at his tiny desk, he exhales loudly and decides he might as well look through it. Rather, at least look semi-productive as he thumbs through the pages with more ostentatious sighs. However, when he flicks the hefty folder open, he's surprised to see a comparatively recent photograph of an inconspicuous building front. Hide frowns and flips the photograph over, squinting to read the messy scrawl on the back.

 _Helter Skelter,_ he murmurs, drawing his lips into a wry pucker. The name doesn't sound familiar, but he knows it has to be important to have such a large folder.

He tosses the photo to the side and spreads the file's contents across his desk with a quick sweep of a palm. With the individual papers and photos all visible, Hide starts to connect the dots.

 _This was an SS ghoul,_ he muses, reaching towards the faded image of a shadowy figure ducking into the bar. He gathers the other photographs and shuffles through them excitedly.

 _Here's another one. And another._

 _Why are so many ghouls going into this bar?_

He sets the photos down and rummages through the opened files for case notes from other agents. His roaming fingers land on the thicker stack of sheets and he quickly tugs it from the pile.

 _Helter Skelter is a highly suspicious location famous for attracting the foulest of monsters._ His eyes quickly dart around the page, taking in each of the investigator's carefully printed words. _Although the reason for this is unknown, multiple high-ranking ghouls have been documented inside the premise. No further action will be recommended until the true nature of the building has been discovered._

It's a bit childish and very unprofessional, but he can't suppress the triumphant crow that tumbles out of his throat. For the first time since sitting at his inescapable desk, Hide's finally found a case he doesn't mind investigating. His excitement simmers down to a strangled titter when one of his coworkers sends him an irritated glare from across the room.

"Ah, sorry," he hastily apologizes, rubbing the back of his neck as he offers his disgruntled neighbor a vibrant grin. "Just found an interesting lead."

The investigator scoffs, far too disillusioned by his wasted years of pouring over dusty files to humor the rookie. He returns to his scanning without another word, leaving Hide alone with his discovery.

Hide tries to stay calm as he eagerly absorbs the information in the folder. Although some of the information is old, other additions are much newer, promising a case that's simultaneously relevant and complex.

 _Just the way I like 'em,_ he adds with a muted smile, keeping his roving gaze firmly on the papers before him.

After reading and rereading each component of the file, Hide finally builds a rough picture of the bar. According to the case notes, it's a popular location, frequented often by high class ghouls for a particular reason.

A reason he's absolutely determined to uncover.

* * *

In the moments after sprinting to his apartment and panting on the floor from a thinly suppressed panic attack, Hide had sworn after that he would _never_ try anything as risky as infiltrating a ghoul location singlehandedly again.

However, he knows more than anyone else that success tastes sweeter when the impossible is pulled off twice.

Now, he currently finds himself sitting on the stained seat of the subway, swaddled in the same jacket he wore when trailing after Yamori years ago. He mashes his lips and rolls his shoulders, wishing the previous owner of the jacket had been a bit more conscious of modern fashion or comfort.

 _Beggars can't be choosers,_ he laments, tearing his gaze from his folded hands in his lap to the sparse smattering of fellow patrons also in the car. Although most mind their own business, he catches the confused frown of a gaunt brunet a few seats away. The man's nose wrinkles at the distorted scent and Hide drops his gaze quickly in hopes of deterring any unnecessary questions. Betrayed by his sensitive nose, the man's true nature had given him away.

 _To think—that mild mannered office worker is actually a ghoul. Imagine the number of hiding ghouls the CCG could discover if they started going undercover._

Thankfully, the man does not approach Hide when his stop arrives, only tossing a startled expression over his shoulder as he disappears through the sliding doors. Hide sighs and rubs his arms, fingertips brushing against the coarse material of the stolen coat. He needs to refocus his mind on the mission.

After all, one slight mistake and he'll be dead meat.

 _In more ways than one,_ he supplies with another wry smile.

Hide takes a steadying breath and casually flips through the investigator's notes on the bar until his stop arrives. He tucks the folder away, shoulders his bag, and darts out of the subway car. Although he would prefer to take his time and approach the bar at his own pace, if he allows himself too much time to think, he'll convince himself to abandon the mission before it even begins.

A small corner of his mind still pleads with him to turn around and run away as fast as possible when he reaches the bar's entrance. He tries to bury his nerves with little success as his faintly trembling hand reaches for the polished doorknob.

Yanking the door open, he all but throws himself into the bar. It's not particularly crowded, but the hushed murmur of friendly banter pauses as the customers stare at the newcomer. However, they quickly return to their own conversations, paying no mind to the recent arrival.

 _Smooth, Nagachika,_ Hide chastises himself, willing his trembling knees to stop rattling. _You just about alerted everyone in here that you're some weird stranger._

When he's convinced that he's been thoroughly forgotten by the resident ghouls, he relaxes slightly and takes a moment to study the interior of the bar. There hadn't been any pictures in the file, so his imagination had run wild, picturing half eaten corpses thrown in corners and blood dripping from the walls. He hadn't expected the bar to look so _normal._

He eyes a pair of ghouls sipping something thick and crimson at the bar—he does _not_ want to think about what that might be—and decides they are too preoccupied in their loud conversations to pay much attention to an eavesdropper. He slides up to a seat at the bar, leaving an open gap between himself and the closest ghoul's back.

"D'ya think the rumors are true?" Hide immediately perks up, excited to have stumbled upon such a promising lead. "About the missing kid?"

 _Missing kid?_ Hide tries to focus on the bustling bartender in front of him instead of on the ghouls' conversation. _Many people are missing right now. Who's he specifically talking about?_

"Damned if I know," another ghoul grunts, sloshing around the remaining liquid in his glass. He tosses it back and swallows, slamming the empty cup on the bar surface. "I think it's none of our damn business if ya wanna know what I think," he slurs. "That's between them and them other ghouls."

Hide suppresses the urge to roll his eyes. The second ghoul's tongue has been significantly loosened by his drink; however, instead of revealing valuable information, he's revealing his supreme stupidity.

 _Them…and them other ghouls. Is he talking about Aogiri? Another group? Who?_

"Well, _I_ heard that the Gourmet is backing those rumors," the bartender purrs, entering the conversation with a sleek smile. She rests her elbows on the bar and leans towards the two ghouls, her fiery hair cascading around her slender shoulders. "He's offering a pretty prize for anyone who can bring home the Anteiku Prince."

Hide stiffens, breathing shallowly to avoid missing any more of her soft whispering. _A missing person from Anteiku? I thought the whole organization was destroyed—but that makes it sound like it's still active._ Hide's head spins as he considers the ramifications of the surviving organization.

 _That means our raid all those years ago was useless. If Anteiku is still around, then that means there's a new leader who's come to take the place of the One-Eyed Owl._

He pauses and suppresses a shudder. _Or the One-Eyed Owl survived,_ he adds darkly, thinking back to the countless casualties from the fateful night. He had been luckier than most of his comrades, but he had faced certain complications of his own on that night as well.

Hide forcefully shoves the pointless thoughts from his mind. He can reminisce later when he isn't sitting in the middle of a ghoul bar. Now he needs to devote all of his attention to the matter at hand: recovering as much intel about this Anteiku Prince as possible without being eaten alive.

"If that damn Gourmet is paying…" The drunker ghoul trails off, glaring blearily at his empty cup. The bartender catches Hide's curious stare before he can yank his eyes away. She tips more crimson liquid into the second ghoul's empty glass, offering Hide a knowing wink as she sets the crystal decanter to the side.

"What were you saying?" she asks sweetly, sliding her gaze back towards Hide's paling face.

 _She's purposely getting him drunk so he'll share more information. She's much smarter than she lets on._ Hide swallows, uncomforted by that knowledge. _She'll figure me out; after all, why else would she be staring at me like that?_

"I _said_ ," the second ghoul mumbles thickly, "if that damn Gourmet is paying, then…then…" He frowns, obviously confused by what he was going to say next.

"He must've come out of retirement," the drunk ghoul's companion adds. "I haven't heard of the Gourmet being active since the raid. Thought he died," he admits with an indifferent shrug.

"Mmm, that _has_ been the general consensus," the bartender nods with a knowing smile. "I wonder what's caused them to _rise_ from the ashes." She turns her head and fixes Hide with another unnerving expression. "What do _you_ think?"

Hide feels as if his stomach has suddenly dropped out. The two ghouls turn to face him, blinking as they notice his presence for the first time.

 _Damn._

"I…I uh," Hide forces a weak chuckle and scratches at his cheek. "I'm afraid I don't have much of an opinion," he offers with a hopeful grimace. "I just moved here, so I'm a bit behind on all the local news. I don't know who any of these people are."

The excuse is sound enough to convince the two customers, though the bartender looks woefully unconvinced. However, instead of calling him out on his blatant lie or his strange scent, she does something infinitely more surprising.

She gives him the information he sorely desires.

Letting the two customers drift back to their natural conversations, the bartender turns her complete attention to Hide.

"Why don't I catch you up to speed?" Her upper lip rises dangerously, exposing a sharp canine. Hide returns the expression with a weak smile of his own.

"It'll be easier if you tell me what you already know though."

Hide considers the question before answering. This could be part of her test, but he can't figure out the wrong or right way to answer. He can't figure out her motives either and it terrifies him.

"I know a bit about Anteiku," he settles for. _It can't hurt to be vague._ "I know about the raid and a little bit about the members."

"Ahh, but do you know about the fabled Anteiku Prince?"

Hide hesitates before shaking his head. He knows about most of the members after reading through briefing files, but he doesn't know which one is considered the "Prince."

"Some called him Centipede, but others called him Eye-Patch." Hide forces his expression to remain neutral; he doesn't want her to see how much the name means to him. He finally has an alias to go with this elusive ghoul, but there's something more underneath. _"_ He disappeared during the raid and, well… we both know what _that_ means. We had all kind of forgotten about Anteiku until the Gourmet returned, offering a huge reward for anyone who could bring back their missing member."

His brow scrunches up in confusion. "But all of a sudden? And why would someone have to _bring_ this guy back?"

The bartender shrugs and gives the boy another feline smile. "That's part of the mystery." She tilts her head back, causing her red locks to tumble down her neck and shoulder blades. "Almost as mysterious as his origin," she murmurs. Hide partially thinks she's talking to herself, but now he realizes that everything she does is deliberate. She's leading him on, but he's too far engrossed in the story to stop now.

"His origin?" Hide echoes, expecting an unimaginative story about a bloodthirsty ghoul who literally ate investigators for breakfast. He's heard hundreds of "mysterious" origin stories from his comrades, of monsters who rise from the dark.

"He's a half-ghoul." The bartender laughs at Hide's unconsciously furrowed brow and covers up an eye with her slender fingers. "Some even say that he used to be human and then someone turned him into a ghoul."

"Hey! Iiiitori!" The drunker ghoul turns back and brandishes his empty glass. He's completely inebriated.

A flicker of annoyance crosses the bartender's face before she refills his cup. His bleary stare settles on Hide. He inhales deeply and his rheumy eyes narrow.

"You not gettin' nuthin'?" He sniffs again, confusion flickering across his dulled features. By this point, his sober companion has become similarly suspicious.

"I'm…uh, trying out a new diet?" Hide winces at the lame excuse. They're going to discover he's human and drink his blood out of matching wineglasses.

"Nonsense!" Itori—he thinks it's great that he finally knows his future murderer's name now—pulls out a clean glass and sets it in front of Hide. She tips the decanter over the empty glass; Hide watches with a glum expression as the thick crimson dribbles out the container and into his cup.

"It's on the house," she shoots him another wink, though now he senses a bit of malicious glee in the expression. "Sort of as a welcome present."

 _Am I really going to drink this right now? What the hell is wrong with me?_

Knowing well what would happen to him if he refuses to drink, Hide takes a slow breath and tosses the liquid at the back of his throat. He tries not to gag as the thick, clogging goop clings to the back of his tongue and trickles agonizingly slowly down his esophagus. It's saltier than he would have imagined, but also extremely metallic.

 _No big deal. No big deal. It's no different than when you broke your nose and you accidentally swallowed some of the blood. Besides, drinking blood is better than losing it, right?_

He successfully manages to suppress the urge to scream or choke, and instead offers Itori his brightest smile, ignoring the fact that his teeth are likely stained red.

"Ah, delicious," he titters weakly.

 _What did you just_ do _?_

 _What the hell_ was _that? Fermented blood?_

If any of Itori's suspicions had been confirmed or denied by his desperate action, her face reveals nothing as she studies him.

However, the sober ghoul to his right has no problem with making his doubts known.

"You smell wrong," he accuses, glaring at Hide. His upper lip rises in a snarl as he takes another deep inhalation. "You smell… _human."_

 _Oops. Time to go._

Hide slips out of his chair and takes a quick step backwards as the two ghouls advance on him. Out of the corner of his eye, he spots the decanter of fermented blood. Without missing a beat, he mumbles a small prayer to no one in particular and grabs the cool crystal neck. He swings it at the closest ghoul, relishing the sound of shattering glass and cries of pain.

Blood explodes everywhere, staining his jacket and hands and causing the shards in his palms to slip and cut him. He immediately releases the mangled pieces of the glassware and brushes his stinging hands against his sides. His jacket is already ruined beyond salvation, but he hopes there's still a chance for him.

At the jarring sound, immediately the quiet hum of the bar falls silent. Curious eyes swivel towards Hide and the two ghouls, drenched in fermented blood. He braces himself for the inevitable slaughter like hungry wolves leaping upon a wounded lamb, but nothing happens. He realizes that the pungent smell of the fermented blood masks his own scent.

As far as anyone in the bar is concerned, a simple conversation between three ghouls just got out of hand. However, when the drunker ghoul shrieks in fury and accidentally impales a random customer with his erupting kagune, all hell breaks loose. The once calm ghouls explode from their seats, slurring and shouting insults across the bar.

Forgotten in the turmoil, Hide takes this as his chance to escape. His wide gaze darts around the chaos, searching for a way out.

 _The front door's an option, but I have to cross through at least ten ghouls to get there. So… I really don't like that option._

"Hmmm… You really made a mess, didn't you, human?"

Hide freezes and spins back towards Itori. He has difficulty placing her expression; she's not particularly angry, yet she seems a bit unimpressed by the carnage. _Or maybe unimpressed by_ you _,_ a voice whispers in the back of his mind.

"I'd say your best chance of escape would be through the back door." She tosses her head to glance behind her, her hair trickling over one shoulder.

Hide swallows, but he doesn't move towards the gestured direction. It could be trap. It could be another one of her games.

"I would hurry if I were you," she continues with another light chuckle. "I'm not sure how much longer those idiots can keep stabbing each other."

Hide slowly moves around the bar, keeping his gaze firmly fixed on her indescribable expression. When he stands only a few feet away from her, he hesitates before moving towards the door.

"Why are you helping me?"

Itori shrugs, offering a cryptic smile. " _She's_ not the only one who can play with her food."

Although he aches to ask her what she means, Hide tears his stare from her face and tenses his muscles to run.

"Before you go," she adds, "you might want to know the Anteiku Prince's name. His _real_ name." A startled frown flickers across Hide's features. He had been so swept up in surviving that he had temporarily forgotten his original purpose for coming to the bar.

"It's Kaneki. Kaneki Ken."

Hide nods once before rushing towards the exit. He inhales deeply once his face hits the cool night air, barely able to keep his knees from buckling in relief.

He sternly reminds himself that he's not safe yet and runs as fast as he can to the nearest subway station, disregarding the horrified expressions of his fellow passengers. He finally stops to breathe again when he locks the doors to his apartment and collapses in a trembling pile of bloodstained limbs.

* * *

 **Thank you so much for reading!**

Now, the twist with this fic is I'm going to try to have regular updates (what?!). I've already drafted a *sort of* complete outline with several chapters already written. The main purpose was to make sure I had everything in the first few chapters set up properly to correspond with the later chapters, but it's nice to be ahead too.

The second little twist is I've been meaning to spice up my dusty Tumblr account (just "macrauchenia" like my username here) with updates and snippets of future works. If you have any suggestions on any TG oneshots, feel free to send me an ask and I'll probably make a drabble dump story on here with all of the results. It would just make my day to see a request. Fair warning though-even if the prompt has no mention of Hide in it, you better believe that sunshine star child will find a way to be in _all_ of them.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing. Not a thing.

 **Author's Note:** Thanks for stickin' with this. Hopefully this won't disappoint!

* * *

Hide only stirs from his exhausted stupor once to call the CCG and hoarsely inform them that he will be taking his first sick day. After assuring his superior that everything is all right and he isn't dying, he murmurs a polite goodbye and tosses the phone to the side, returning to his blissful slumber.

He wakes up a few hours later, comfortably recharged and mentally wired. He pulls himself into a sitting position, trying to ignore the sticky _squelch_ that accompanies the movement as his crusty clothes cling to the floor. Dozens of unique emotions coarse through his thin frame, but at the moment, he's primarily concerned with a particular one.

 _Disgust._

He hates the smell of the tart fermented blood staining his clothes, floor, and skin. By this point, it's dried in his hair and along the curve of his lower lip, but he had been too exhausted to try to wash it off when he first got home. He was too grateful to be living to care much about his physical condition, but now he has time to consider it.

 _I can't believe I_ drank _that stuff,_ he groans internally, horrified by the outcome of his mission. He falls silent and plays the previous night's events through in his mind again, trying desperately not to forget anything.

 _It could have been worse,_ he reasons. Although the taste of the fermented blood is foul and still lingers on his tongue and throat, he hopes that maybe the blood was just a friendly donation from a still-breathing human. Not matter how improbable the story seems, Hide firmly sticks to it to spare his churning stomach.

 _It could have been worse,_ he repeats to himself. _I could have liked it._

He pries himself off the floor and shuffles towards the bathroom. He's never needed a shower this badly before in his entire life.

* * *

He's just about to wash the rest of the soap from his hair for the third time when a thought strikes him. It's a bold idea, tinged with an appropriate touch of madness. As he reflects upon the plan longer, he realizes just how brilliant and insane it truly is.

 _And I thought infiltrating a ghoul bar was risky_ , he muses. _If I can pull_ this _off—well, I don't know_ what'll _happen, but it'll be more exciting than sitting at a desk for the rest of my life._ An infectious, disbelieving smile stretches across his lips as he gives a slippery spin in the shower.

The triumphant moment is quickly ruined. Soap runs from his dripping hair into his eyes, causing him to shriek in surprise and pain. Cursing under his breath, he flails in the shower, trying desperately to rub the stinging liquid from his watering eyes. He all but jumps out of the shower and paws at his burning eyes. He rinses his sudsy hands in the cool water from his sink faucet and tries again, sagging his dripping shoulders in relief when the fire finally subsides.

Hide wipes at the foggy steam on his mirror, clearing a tiny spot with his palm. He peers at his glowing red eyes, still recovering from their shampoo assault. He squints at his reflection, pressing his cool fingers to one of his eyes.

"Eye-Patch, huh?" he murmurs thoughtfully, training his uncovered eye on its bloodshot mirror image.

Hide quickly dresses and flips his bag over his shoulder as he hurries out the door. He has a few questions to ask before he can even begin to plan for step two.

* * *

"Nagachika-kun?" His superior looks rightfully surprised to see Hide riffling through a drawer at his desk. "I thought you were sick today."

Hide glances up and offers the investigator a winning smile. "I was…am. I got better?" he supplies with a weak shrug. "I, uh, forgot something in my desk, so I just popped by to get it. It was my paper on… Asian history. Yes, Asian history." He waves the first stack of papers he sees in the air, discretely covering the incriminating title on the cover with a thumb.

"I'll be gone in just a few moments." Satisfied by the answer, his supervisor nods and turns away.

Hide watches him leave before shoving more files into his bag. He had stopped by the archive library earlier that day to snag as much information about the Anteiku raid as he could. He had also snuck out any folders that mentioned the Gourmet in order to get a better sense for the wealthy benefactor in his plan.

He stops his furious packing when he reaches the last file, a heavy folder labeled "Eye-Patch/Centipede." He glances over his shoulder for any prying coworkers before flicking back the cover. He first sees a blurry picture of a young man, garbed in a terrifying black mask with barred teeth. Another picture is stuck to the back and he carefully separates it from the first photo. Hide squints at the subject, noticing the familiar thin frame and pale, gaunt cheek. He can only assume it's the same ghoul, even though the figure in the second photo has a messy shock of vibrant white hair with a beaklike mask.

Hide feels a ghostlike smile flicker across his features as his gaze strays to the strange mask. _That's it. That's the mask I saw. He's the same one. Centipede and Eye-Patch._

He thumbs through the other grainy surveillance photos, wishing for something more concrete than shadowy profiles. If he wants to create a proper replica, he'll need to know _exactly_ what Eye-Patch looks like.

 _Maybe the investigator on his case will have a better description._ Hide flips to the first set of case notes, humming nonchalantly as he skims over the preliminary opening.

 _The subject first appeared several years ago. Later seen in the company of multiple high-ranking ghouls such as White Rabbit, the Demon Ape, and Black Dog. Also spotted during the Aogiri Tree raid. Possible alliances with both Anteiku and Aogiri._

He scans over the entire report, tucking away key tidbits of information every so often. His lips draw into a faint pucker as he reaches the last page.

 _Last seen during the Anteiku Raid. Current location is unknown._

Hide scoffs faintly under his breath. _This would be so much easier if we actually knew where he is. I hope that whoever wrote this particular report is still alive._

As he drops his gaze down to the familiar signature of the reporting investigator, his sharp intake of breath turns into a weak, disbelieving chuckle.

 _This is getting more and more unbelievable._

* * *

"Amon-san!" The older investigator jerks his head up, faintly startled by Hide's enthusiastic voice so close to his ear.

"Nagachika-kun…?" he begins hesitantly, studying Hide's wide eyes and excited expression.

"I was hoping you could help me out," he begins, shooting the man a pleading smile. "I have a few questions abo—"

"I'm sorry, but I'm busy with a ca—"

"It's about Eye-Patch," Hide blurts out, desperate to catch his attention. It works and Amon turns to pin Hide with a suspicious stare.

"Eye-Patch?"

Hide nods furiously and launches into his explanation. "While looking through some old case files, I discovered some information about another ghoul that had recently popped up in the 11th Ward with a similar MO to Eye-Patch."

 _Yeah…. I'm not going to tell him about my little "field trip." He'd make sure I was on desk duty until I died of dust inhalation._

"Anyway, I have a pretty good description of this new ghoul, but I wanted to make sure he could possibly be Eye-Patch or Centipede before I took it to my supervisor."

He had conjured half the story on his way to Amon's office, but the other half is partially true. He just hopes that Amon believes the right half.

"Hmmm…" Amon releases an indifferent hum before glancing back to his files. Although he looks visibly unperturbed by the mention of Eye-Patch, Hide knows his superior far better than that. A vein pulses in his temple and Hide has to suppress a growing smile.

 _He's going to crack any moment now._

"The file said that the new ghoul has…white hair?" Hide leaves the statement a bit open-ended just in case Amon wants to modify it.

"Eye-Patch first had black hair." Hide's eyebrows dart up. "It changed to white about the same time he unveiled his kakuja. That's when he became Centipede."

"The pictures must have been too blurry for me to see that. He looked to be about…" Hide trails off, waiting for Amon to supply the rest. _He looked to be about my age,_ he realizes. _If he were still alive, he'd probably be 23 too._

"He was a younger ghoul, probably a teenager when he first appeared."

"Do you have any, uh, _other_ physical markers? Maybe—oh…I don't know-a sketch from memory?"

Amon tears his gaze from his work and considers the younger man. His eyes narrow as he scrutinizes Hide's hopeful expression.

"Usually analysts don't go into this much detail in their reports," he begins suspiciously. Hide can feel the unasked question: _what are you trying to do, Nagachika-kun?_

 _No doubt he's remembering how I first got assigned to his team. He's probably wondering if I'm going to try another stupid risk to get more information._

 _A bit too late for that._

Hide pours as much innocence and sunshine into his next grin. "I just want to be thorough," he assures Amon. "Like I said yesterday, if I don't gather some good information, I'm afraid my supervisor will want to demote me. And, well, my stomach won't appreciate the stunted paycheck," he chuckles. His warm eyes crinkle in amusement and Amon slowly starts to relax.

With a begrudging grumble, Amon turns his back to Hide and shuffles through some papers in his drawer. He pulls out a faded and folded piece of notebook paper. Hide tilts his head at the sheet, noting the frayed edges as if it had been forcefully ripped out of a journal.

"I drew this after Mado-san died," he mutters. Hide keeps his gaze politely lowered. He remembers Seidou filling him in at the beginning about the death of Amon's first partner, though the topic understandably never came up in casual conversation.

"It's probably too outdated by now, but this is the best I have. You can put it in your report."

Hide carefully unfolds the crumpled paper and gasps at the crude drawing. Although there's _many_ stray lines and furious eraser marks, Hide can easily discern the gentle roundness of the ghoul's exposed cheek. He squints at another blurry mark and brings the drawing closer to his face to better make out the details.

 _It…looks like a tear?_

"He was crying," Amon murmurs softly. Hide's brow furrows as his gaze darts back to Amon's tired expression. "He kept begging me to stop so he wouldn't have to be a killer. Probably just some ghoul trick to stall me," he echoes, though his tone sounds vaguely unsure.

Hide swallows thickly and drops his eyes back to the creased paper. His gaze lingers on the boy's sharpened chin and he freezes. Something about the teen's angular chin and widened eye seems familiar to him.

 _Almost like a fleeting memory or a stranger on the street._

He tucks the paper in his pocket and thanks Amon again for his time. He back towards the door, mind racing as he contemplates his next step.

"Nagachika-kun?" He stops and turns back towards his former superior. "Don't get too curious."

Hide offers a weak laugh and rubs at the back of his neck. "Don't worry about it," he promises.

Although Amon looks hardly convinced, he returns to his work, granting Hide just enough time to exhale before darting out the door.

 _Mmm... All this running around sure has made me hungry._

* * *

He finds himself standing in front of the entrance to the tiny café from the day before.

 _I haven't actually eaten here in forever,_ he decides before stepping into the outdoor dining area. He spies a shimmer of white out of the corner of his eye and turns to see the stranger from before sitting in the same spot. Hide takes advantage of the stranger's lack of attention to inch closer each time he turns a page in his novel.

 _I should just go over and apologize. It would be the nice thing to do after terrifying him yesterday._

Hide stops in front of his table and clears his throat politely. The stranger starts and blinks up at him from his book. Hide can see the confused gears grating in the man's mind.

 _He's forgotten all about me,_ he internally groans, faintly put out. _He's probably wondering what some lunatic is doing, standing over his table like this._

"I, uh, I wanted to apologize."

"Apologize?" The young man blinks again, thoroughly thrown off by the conversation.

"Uh, yeah. For yesterday. I'm sorry for startling you yesterday. I was the one who ran into your table and tried to high-five your coffee. It's a good thing I have awful aim, right?"

The stranger's confused expression cracks into a meek smile. "That would have been a hot mess then." Hide takes another quick peek at his facial features, absorbing the delicate curve of his rounded cheeks and his crinkled eyes.

 _Wait a minute…_

He scans the stranger's table, noting that he only has a cup of coffee again. Although the sight normally wouldn't set off any alarms in his head, he thinks back to his earlier encounter with the ghoul on the subway.

 _I would have had no idea he was a ghoul if I hadn't been wearing that awful jacket. Maybe there are a lot more ghouls hiding out there than we originally thought._

His stomach grumbles, reminding him that it's time for lunch. _Strange that someone wouldn't be buying any food. Especially_ _at this time of the day,_ he muses, noticing the decadent spread of pastries and breads on the other customers' tables.

"Won't you let my buy you lunch then? I feel like my stuttered apology isn't enough to make up for giving you a heart attack."

The stranger shakes his head with the same polite smile, but Hide notices that the expression now seems a little tense. "Oh, no. I'm fine, really. I'm… er… on a diet."

 _Pft. Yeah, tried_ that _excuse already. Doesn't work._

"Come on! You must be starving!"

"Please, I'm fine. I already ate." He almost sounds as if he's begging Hide to drop the subject.

Hide decides to go for the definitive strike.

"What are ya, a ghoul or something? It's my treat."

The stranger pales significantly and inhales sharply through his nose. Avoiding Hide's amused stare, he immediately flags down a waiter and orders a doughy confection in a shaky voice.

When the bemused waiter brings the food to the table, the stranger hesitates only briefly before shoving the entire pastry in his mouth. Hide barely keeps his grin in check as the stranger visibly gags on the sugary treat.

 _I'm not one for sweet things, but I'm sure it isn't_ that _bad._

"I'll… I'll be right back," the stranger chokes out, rising from the table and darting in the direction of the restrooms.

Hide releases a whistling breath as he watches the other man disappear. He roots through his pocket and drops a few dented coins on the table before leaving.

 _I think I just found my ghoul._

* * *

He runs off his mental checklist when he returns to his apartment.

 _Found information of Eye-Patch or Centipede. Check._

 _Found a lookalike ghoul who may or may not be blackmailed into helping me. Check._

He glances from his pile of "borrowed" folders to Amon's rough sketch of Eye-Patch. He'll go through them later, but something else keeps echoing in the back of his mind.

"What did she say his name was?" he muses out loud, tapping the tip of his chin thoughtfully. "Kaneki Ken, right?"

 _Hmmm… I wonder if there's anything out there about him._

Hide cracks his knuckles and starts with a simple search on the internet. Though he isn't sure how to exactly spell his name, he plunks out a few of the possibilities on the keyboard.

The first time he tries a name, it comes back with thousands of hits, but all for a famous author who had died recently. _I don't think that was him._ Hide squints at the author's date of birth, noting it was nearly a century ago.

He tries another variation of the name with similar results. He goes back to the search homepage and glares at the blank bar. Tempted to call it for the night, Hide sighs and doodles absently on the corner of an old file. _I can't believe all of my hard work will be ruined by my rotten spelling._

A new variation jumps into his head and he quickly rattles the respective characters on the keyboard. A triumphant shout rises from his throat when the first hit is a news article with a grainy school photograph.

"Local university student missing after receiving life-saving transplant from construction accident," he reads the headline. He glances at the date, noting that the story is from nearly five years ago. _Right when Eye-Patch first appeared._

Hide's gaze darts back to the supplied photograph and immediately recognizes the young man from Amon's rough sketch. To help confirm his suspicions, he holds the notebook paper over the pixelated image.

 _It's not pretty, but I think it's a match._

He sets the drawing to the side and proceeds to read the article. He scans through the brief introduction that mentions the sudden decrease in serial deaths from the suspected binge eater.

 _We never did find out what happened to that one. I wonder if he or she is still alive._ Hide had discovered a file on the ghoul's exploits and had come up with a few theories of his own, but the binge eater's long absence made the case irrelevant to his superiors.

He continues to scroll through the article, but freezes when his mouse hovers over the name of the operating doctor.

 _Kanou! He's the one who was creating all those half-ghouls! He must've created Kaneki—er, Eye-Patch!_

With an excited, rattling breath, Hide finishes the article and leans back in his chair.

"So…." He drawls slowly, bridging his fingers on his abdomen. "If Kanou's involved somehow, this could be an even bigger case than before."

He ignores the nagging inkling of doubt and danger in the back of his mind, urging him to drop the investigation. Hide reaches for another discarded file. _This could be much bigger than finding the whereabouts of Anteiku and the One-Eyed Owl._ He thinks back to the bartender's words from the night before and to Amon's case notes. _It sounds like the Aogiri Tree and some other powerful ghouls are involved in this too. If every ghoul in Tokyo knows about the prize, they'll stop at nothing to find this "Anteiku Prince" and claim the reward._

Hide's pursed lips relax into a wan smile. His eyes land on a tiny box sitting on the edge of his dresser and considers its contents. When he saw it lying on the street all those years ago, soaked with mud and blood, he had no idea what possessed him to tuck it in his pocket. He should have run for his life instead of lingering in that alleyway, waiting for death to return.

But now?

 _I'll just have to make sure I find the "best" Kaneki then, huh?_

Now he's grateful to have his proverbial ace in the hole.

* * *

 **Thank you! I really appreciate it! The next chapter will be posted a week from now.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing. Not a thing!

 **Author's Note:** Thank you guys for reading! I'm really excited about this chapter, 'cause I think it sort of sets up some of the tings you've been asking about

* * *

When he closes his eyes that night, the memories find him.

They don't come at once. Instead, they swirl and dance through his dreams like dust particles, fleetingly illuminated by the sunlight passing through subway windows.

However, it was a blurry, indistinct phrase that he had mumbled while crawling into bed that had set everything off.

"I had a friend named Kaneki once…" he had murmured weakly, too consumed by his exhausted thoughts to comprehend his words.

 _He's all alone, wandering down the stark white hallways of his new school. It's the third time he's had to move that year and he wishes his father could stay in one city for more than a few months. The last time they moved, he didn't even get the chance to_ talk _to anyone, much less make any new friends. He supposes he should be grateful that his father moved to a city where he at least knows the language, but it's only a matter of time before they will have to move again._

Hide rolls over in his sleep, tucking the blankets closer to his shivering form.

 _Although his father's car waits for him at the main entrance, Hide sneaks out the back door. He had seen a river run past the school; like any rational young boy, he wants to jump into it._

 _He runs down the grassy hill, arms windmilling in the sunset haze. However, he slips to a stop at the sight of a hunched boy perched by the riverside. He wobbles towards him and throws himself to the ground, startling his new companion._

 _"I remember seeing you in class. You sat by yourself." The words come out far more accusing than he intends. "I don't have any friends yet either."_

 _Before the other boy can argue back, Hide's grin grows. "My name's Hideyoshi Nagachika, but you should call me Hide," he announces._

 _The dark haired boy blinks at him, obviously overwhelmed by Hide's brightness and brilliance._

 _"W-Why?"_

 _"Because you're going to be my new friend!" Hide hesitates for a moment, peering into the slighter boy's pale face. "If you're okay with that," he adds hastily._

 _He is._

 _He smiles and introduces himself as Kaneki Ken. Hide reaches for the boy's hand and gives it a messy shake like his father does whenever he meets new clients. They both laugh at the silly mockery of a business transaction._

 _Hide is grateful to finally have a friend again. He wonders what Kaneki will get from their deal._

He mumbles a few incoherent words under his breath, tossing again on his bed. He squirms deeper into the cushions of his mattress, tangling his body in the comforter.

 _They sit underneath the stars, watching as entire galaxies slowly turn circles above them._

 _"Kaneki?" Hide breaks the silence first, glancing to the side. He misses the pale dusk, when he could actually watch the awestruck expression on his friend's face. It's too dark now to really see._

 _"Do you think the stars have stories?"_

 _Kaneki's face scrunches up as he considers the question, but he does not tear his gaze from the twinkling lights. "Maybe?" he offers. "Probably. They've seen a lot."_

 _Hide hums in agreement, wriggling his bare toes in the cool air. "What kind of story do you think we'll have?"_

 _There's a beat of silence before Kaneki turns his head to look at Hide. In the dim glow from above, Hide can faintly make out the shine of the boy's eyes and hollow shadow under his frowning mouth._

 _"I don't know," he whispers back._

 _"Well,_ I _know," Hide counters confidently. "It'll be like a fairytale."_

 _"A fairytale?"_

 _"Yep! With knights and princesses and evil monsters that will try to keep us away. But don't worry—everything will be okay."_

 _"How do you know?" Kaneki sounds skeptical._

 _"Even if you get lost, I'll find you someday," Hide assures him. "Because that's how it works. The knight_ always _finds the princess in the end."_

 _"Why am I the princess?" Hide can imagine Kaneki's wrinkled nose and pursed lips in the darkness. It makes him want to smile._

 _"Because I thought of it first, so I get to be the knight," he retorts, pleased by his brilliant explanation._

 _Hide falls silent, thinking back to his father's hushed phone calls and the thick stacks of paper on the kitchen table. He's learned to recognize the signs._

 _"But Kaneki?" There's no answer; no doubt his friend is pouting about being labeled the princess. Hide continues anyway. "Even if I do have to go someday, I'll still find you again, okay?"_

 _They wait in the cooling silence for a moment. Either traffic or thunder rumbles behind them, though Hide can't tell which. He just keeps his gaze fixed on the sky because he doesn't want to see Kaneki turn away from him._

 _"Okay," a tiny voice whispers back after what feels like eternity._

 _Before he can stop himself, Hide peeks at the shadowy form of his friend and notices how bright his eyes glisten in the hazy starlight._

 _Watching others, he discovers, is dangerous._

He groans weakly in his sleep. The blankets feel too warm now—like they're smothering him.

 _Hide keeps his gaze lowered as he tells Kaneki the news. His father has a new client in Berlin and they'll leave sometime next week. He's only known the boy for a month and a half, but this is the hardest goodbye he's had to say for a long time. It had hurt to keep the secret to himself for so long, but now he feels even worse after seeing Kaneki's expression fall._

 _"But it's going to be fine," he reminds his friend with a chipped grin. "I'll send you lots of postcards of the weird foods and you can tell me all about your crush on Mii-chan. We'll keep in touch, alright?"_

 _Hide shifts from foot to foot, glancing over Kaneki's shoulder before turning his gaze back to his friend's downcast face._

 _"Are you sure you're okay?"_

 _Kaneki nods, though his muted smile seems far too weak. He peeks back at Hide, releasing a forced laugh._

 _"I'll be fine," he reassures Hide, ghosting the edge of his chin with his slender fingers._

 _Hide watches him for a moment before sighing. "I, uh, I have to go pack now," he murmurs softly. "I'll be back later though," he promises, giving his friend a halfhearted wave before disappearing around a corner. Hide hesitates before truly leaving, waiting to hear if Kaneki will do anything in his absence._

 _Soft sniffles echo in the empty corridor and Hide feels his insides twist into a knot. He gently cups his chin in an imitation of his friend's earlier gesture._

 _His suspicions have been confirmed, though he dearly wishes the circumstances could be different._

 _He wants to forget what he had just discovered._

Hide finally untangles his upper body and arms from the constricting blankets, leaving his lower limbs wrapped up in their tight bindings.

 _They write and send letters to one another faithfully for the first few weeks after Hide's departure. Hide keeps Kaneki continually updated on his new addresses while Kaneki briefs him on all of the crazy happenings in Tokyo. Despite their initial efforts, the notes in the mail become less and less frequent._

 _However, Hide doesn't realize it's over until he gets his own letter back in the mail, stamped with a vibrant red "return to sender" label._

 _Kaneki seems to have forgotten him; within a couple of months, Hide starts to forget about him as well._

 _When his family returns to Tokyo for a holiday visit, Hide's sole desire is to see the shiny new CCG headquarters. He thinks nothing of his former schoolmate even when they drive past the old elementary school._

Hide finally manages to kick off the blankets from his legs and bolts upright, panting in the cool darkness. He rubs a shaking hand through his damp hair and across his clammy face, wondering what is causing him to have such vibrant dreams.

 _I bet that fermented blood is doing weird things to my system…_ he muses, taking steadying breaths with his eyes squeezed shut.

After another moment of rattling breaths, Hide slowly lowers himself back down into a reclined position.

 _His real name. It's Kaneki. Kaneki Ken._

He had a friend named Kaneki once, but he supposes that's an irrelevant observation.

(Rather, he _thinks_ his name had been Kaneki.)

He rolls over onto his side and closes his eyes. _His_ Kaneki is probably a typical college student, living an uneventful life at some University and working part time at the nearest coffee shop.

Nothing good can come from dwelling on burned bridges and childhood possibilities, so he goes back to sleep.

Contrary to the horror stories, Hide firmly believes that the ghosts of the past never return to haunt those living in the present. At least, that's what he tells himself.

* * *

He intends to "casually" drop by and visit the ghoul at the café again, but he stutters to a stop when he notices the man already has company. Hide's eyes widen to impossible proportions when he realizes _who_ the ghoul's conversation partner is.

 _That's…that's_ Arima _! Why is a_ ghoul _talking to the CCG_ Reaper _?!_

Hide ducks behind a pillar and waits for the inevitable carnage when the investigator would rip apart the younger man, but nothing happens. Instead, the ghoul says something that causes Arima to _chuckle._

Hide feels his jaw completely unhinge, plummet to the ground, and shatter in a million pieces. Although he wouldn't consider himself chummy with Arima—hell, he's never even heard the man _speak,_ though he feels like it would be a bone crushing experience—Hide had always held the firm belief that the stern investigator never knew how to smile, much less possess the physical organs required to laugh.

Now he's gawking at the most dangerous ghoul exterminator and the worst disguised ghoul he's ever met, wondering how it is possible for the two to be friends.

 _There is_ definitely _something wrong with me,_ he confirms. _Fermented blood or not, I'm never drinking again. Weird stuff always happens when I do._

He watches the odd couple interact for a moment more before Arima rises to leave, setting a cube shaped package on the table. The ghoul thanks him with a soft laugh before the investigator disappears in the crowd.

 _That'll be hard to beat._

Hide whistles under his breath before crossing towards the table. He plops down in the recently vacated chair, shooting the ghoul his widest grin. The latter's fading smile remains on his face until he realizes who his new guest is. Immediately the joyful expression slips off, revealing a horrified, wide-eyed stare.

"Sorry I left so abruptly. Something came up," Hide pauses and chuckles darkly. "Though, judging by your awful expression yesterday, I think something came up for you too."

The stranger at least has the decency to look unamused by his coarse joke.

"I just wanted to let you know that I know what you are—" Hide breaks off as the other tenses underneath the table. He is expecting one of two reactions at this moment: either the ghoul will stab him repeatedly with his kagune and run away or he'll just sit there and try to stutter out excuses. Not in the mood for dying or equally painful humiliation, Hide decides to try to set the ghoul's evident nerves at ease.

"But I'm not going to turn you in or report you," he immediately counters, bringing his hands up in a placating gesture. Although the ghoul still looks incredibly suspicious, he settles back down in his seat.

"What do you want?"

"Just to ask a few simple questions. Nothing too serious," Hide shrugs, offering another dismissive flick of his wrist. "Like, what's your name?"

The ghoul hesitates before answering. "Sasaki Haise," he murmurs, fidgeting slightly in his chair.

Hide grins winningly at him. "See? That wasn't so bad. My name's Hideyoshi Nagachika, but just call me Hide, please."

He digests this with a slow blink. Hide takes it as a sign to continue.

"I was also wondering if you know anything about a place called Anteiku."

Haise considers the word for a moment before shaking his head. "Sorry, but no. I've never heard of that before. Is it a store?"

"It's actually a café," Hide corrects, pursing his lips in a contemplative pucker. "You've _never_ heard of anything relating to it at all? You don't even know anyone who might have worked there?"

"No…" Haise pauses and tilts his head at his guest. "But you make it sound like _I_ might have worked there. Did I?"

Hide frowns, visibly stumped. "How would I know? I didn't even know your name until a few minutes ago."

"Oh…" Haise looks away, seemingly disappointed.

Hide narrows his eyes at the odd question. "Why do you think _I_ would know?"

"Nevermind. Forget I sa—"

"Hey! I'm curious now. What do you mean?"

Haise hesitates before answering, tossing a cautious glance over his shoulder for any passing eavesdroppers. "I…I don't remember."

"You mean you don't remember where you worked? Did you get stabbed in the brain or something while on the job?"

"No, I don't remember _anything."_

"Anything?" Hide echoes, trying to figure out what he means by the vague term.

"I know I'm a ghoul," Haise hurriedly explains. "But I don't know how I became one or what I did during that time. All I know is one day I woke up in a hospital with no memories of the first two decades of my life."

"You don't remember _anything_ ," Hide states, finally starting to grasp the situation.

"No," Haise confirms with a wry frown.

 _This could be better than I thought. If he doesn't remember his past, it may be easier to try to convince him that he's that Anteiku Prince._

 _Obviously blackmailing won't work if he's friends with Arima. Nothing in the entire world is scarier than that guy...and I'm a_ human.

"The only thing I know," Haise continues, "is that I was one of the few ghouls selected to be part of the Dangerous Ghoul Reintroduction program. Arima said it was because I used to be human, so they wanted to give me a second chance."

 _So_ that's _why he said he "became" a ghoul. I was wondering about that. He must have been some experiment in his "past life."_

Hide's eyebrows lift in surprise. He's never heard of that particular program before, but part of him wonders if it's a made up device of the CCG to monitor ghouls. _If Arima's involved, then it's definitely run by the CCG. Still, why would they try to reintroduce ghouls into society instead of killing or imprisoning them? That seems…strangely inefficient._

"Is that connected to the CCG?"

Haise visibly blanches at the organization's name. He shakes his head furiously. "No, _definitely_ not."

"This program _isn't_ part of the CCG?" Hide clarifies with a single scrunched eye.

 _What the hell? I don't even know what's going on right now. Why couldn't I have found a ghoul that_ didn't _have some freaky manga backstory?_

"If the CCG knew about me, they'd kill me." His narrowed eyes meet Hide's bemused stare. "I still don't know if I can trust you, since you're obviously part of them."

The tables turn and Hide becomes the defensive one. "No, I'm not!" he insists with a furrowed frown. "You can't know that."

"You were wearing a CCG security badge yesterday."

"Maybe it was a disguise."

"Why would you disguise yourself as a Dove when questioning a ghoul?"

"Maybe to throw you off?"

"That doesn't sound very smart though…"

Hide knows his excuses are far from believable. He hates how much he sounds like an unimaginative child rattling off pathetic lies, but he has to get Haise relaxed enough to at least listen to his proposition.

"Well, then what were you doing with Arima?" Hide quickly changes the subject, eager to start a new topic.

"You know Arima?" Haise instantly brightens.

"Yeah, we're kind of like coworkers…sort of. We both work at the CCG. I'm a junior analyst and he's the CCG Reaper."

 _That…didn't sound as impressive as I thought it would. I should have left out the job descriptions._

Haise pales and makes an odd sound in the back of his throat. If he had actually been eating, Hide would have thought he was choking.

"Arima is my supervisor for the rehabilitation program. He monitors me and provides food from corpses in the morgue." Hide's eyes travel to the nondescript package on the table.

 _Oh._

"I had no idea he was part of the CCG." Haise looks appropriately distraught.

 _He probably is,_ Hide reasons. _After all, it isn't every day that you find out one of your closest confidants works for an organization whose sole purpose is to betray or destroy you._ Hide decides to play on this as much as he can.

"Mmm… He is though. They're probably behind your little memory dump. I'll be the first to admit that the CCG isn't the most trustworthy organization—and hell, they give me a _paycheck_ every month _._ "

"We have weekly meetings to discuss my progress in the rehabilitation program. That means the CCG knows everything about my life…" he trails off with a distressed moan.

"Everything?"

Haise mashes his lips together. "At least everything I can remember."

Hide studies the other for a moment before launching into his speech. "Well, why don't you take back your life then? Y'know… Go discover who you were before they erased your past."

"What?" Haise blinks at Hide, mouth partly opened in stunned confusion.

"I said, why don't you find out who you were beforehand? Before, uh, you got evicted from Memory Lane." He wiggles his fingers in Haise's direction, wincing at the poor wording.

Although he understands his place as a lowly assistant, Hide wishes _someone_ could have filled him in on the CCG's latest experiments. It would have made him sound far more articulate in a very important conversation.

"I'm not sure about that," Haise hesitates, glancing away. "I used to wonder about getting my memories back, but I don't think I want them. After all, there must've been a reason behind taking them away in the first place. I must have been some kind of monster."

"Maybe. But just because you learn about your past, it doesn't mean you have to turn into a monster again." Hide pauses after catching Haise's elevated eyebrow. "Err, I mean a dangerous, bloodthirsty ghoul again," he amends, though he doubts the new phrase is much better.

Haise still looks unconvinced and Hide barrels into the next segment of his proposal. "The CCG probably won't help, but I think I know someone who can. Remember that Anteiku place I mentioned? The people who worked there knew everything about the ghouls in this area. I'm sure they could answer any of your questions."

A curious light gleams in Haise's eyes. Hide realizes that nothing is more motivating than reclaiming one's entire life history.

 _Good to know. Next time I try to convince an amnesiac ghoul to impersonate the lost heir of a powerful dynasty of flesh-eating humanoids, I'll lead with that._

"Really? You'd help me find them?"

"Ye-es," Hide drawls, pausing before the expected counter. "However, they're a bit hesitant to talk to strangers after the CCG launched a raid on their headquarters. I mean, it's pretty understandable. We'll have to approach them a bit creatively, but are you in?"

Haise considers the question before smiling weakly. Hide takes the response as a "yes" and offers his hand to him.

"So it's a deal then?"

Haise considers the outstretched hand for a moment and Hide watches as a strange expression flits across his face. However, it soon disappears when Haise clasps his hand and nods. "It's a deal."

Hide grins at his new partner. He's relieved the conversation went so well, especially considering the strange turn of events and confessions. They've made so much progress already, so he decides he'll fill Haise in on the specifics of their mission later. He still has one burning question to ask before the conversation ends.

"Why're you just going along with this? I mean, you obviously know I'm part of the CCG. I could betray you at any moment." He cocks an eyebrow, waiting to see the response.

Haise's sheepish smile glints and his grip on Hide's hand tightens before he releases his hold. It's a simple, yet effective reminder that a human is doing business with a ghoul.

"Like I said earlier, there must be a reason behind them erasing my memories. Let's not find out why before the people at Anteiku can tell us."

It's a blatant threat, but Hide laughs nonetheless. He's looking forward to this.

* * *

 **Thank you so much!** I didn't want to completely disregard Hide and Kaneki's friendship from the original story, but I couldn't have them know each other super well, otherwise Hide would figure it out sooner. The kid's too smart, y'know.


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Note:** Sorry for the delay! I hope you enjoy!

* * *

 _Crap. Crap! This is not happening._

Hide runs a hand over his face and blinks at the empty spot in the café where he _specifically told Haise to meet him._

 _This is_ not _happening. I can't believe I've already lost my ticket out of that damn paperwork._

"Is there a problem, sir?" A meek waitress approaches Hide. "Are you looking for someone?"

"Huh? Oh, um…" He scratches the back of his neck and offers a weak chuckle. "I was supposed to meet a potential client here, but he hasn't showed yet. Now I'm afraid I got the time wrong."

"If you don't mind me asking, what does your client look like? I may have seen him come in."

 _Hmm, let's see. My height and build. White hair—but he's my age. Oh, yeah. He also bears a striking resemblance to a ghoul that used to ravage the streets and_ eat people. _That's who I'm looking for._

"Uhh…" Hide scans the café patrons before shaking his head. "No, I don't see him. I didn't mean to trouble you. I must have gotten the times wrong." He apologizes once more before backing out of the café.

With his lunch break hour rapidly dwindling, he has no other option than retreat to the CCG to formulate a new plan.

 _So the guy stood me up after all. Can't blame him—what ghoul would want to go into business with a CCG agent?_

Hide shoves his hands in his pockets and sighs. He pushes the glass doors to the CCG open with a leading shoulder.

"Oh, hello, Nagachika-kun!" One of the security guards waves him over with a teasing smile. "You're in trouble!"

"Oh yeah?" Hide counters, crossing towards the tiny kiosk. He flashes her a wide smile as he plants his elbows on the countertop. "What did I do this time?"

"You didn't tell us you had a visitor coming today!"

"Eh?"

The other guard slips out from behind his desk and stands beside his partner. "Yeah, he's always had security clearance to visit Arima-san, but we never realized you two were college buddies until he stopped by and asked for your office number."

"College buddies…?"

The female guard suddenly squeaks and grabs her partner's arm.

"Oh no. What if we just ruined a surprise! Nagachika-kun obviously didn't know about it till now. Aww, we're so so—"

"I _told_ you not to say anyth—"

"No, no!" Hide hastily interrupts, bringing his hands out in front of him in a placating gesture. "I'm glad you warned me ahead of time. I hate surprises. That's…Haise for you."

It's a gamble, assuming that his visitor is the ghoul from the day before, but Hide can't come up with any other individual who might require extra clearance from the CCG Reaper himself.

When both security guards continue the conversation without correcting Hide, he feels a rush of relief.

 _So…he_ is _here then?_ He resists the childish to fist pump the air. _Hope isn't lost then._

After exchanging a few more pleasantries, Hide excuses himself from the desk, promising to introduce Haise to them again.

 _Okay. Time to get started._

 _Mmmm… Maybe after I've had lunch._

* * *

Hide finds Haise in the lunchroom, chatting amicably with Akira.

 _Crap!_ Hide repeats as he rushes towards them. _Mado-san is always suspicious of everything. I need to get him away before he blows ou—er, I mean his cover._

"Heeeey, buddy," Hide drawls as he slows his pace to a fast walk. "I didn't know you were _coming_ today!" He clasps Haise on the shoulder, startling him into breaking off mid-sentence.

"Hello, Nagachika-kun," Akira smiles wickedly, her eyebrows darting upwards in amusement. "Your friend was just telling me an interesting story about your college days."

"Ahaha, oh yeah?" He shoots Haise a pointed look, one eye narrowed.

"Something about you being shot at with fireworks. I'm surprised you never told _us_ that. You're usually full of self-depreciating stories."

"Well, I try to keep a professional appearance while at work." His poor attempt at dignified stoicism causes Akira to chuckle. Even Haise looks skeptical.

 _If I'm being honest, it's kind of unnerving how fast they've hit it off. I wonder if she'd be as chummy if she knew he was a ghoul._

Hide hastily excuses himself before towing Haise out of the lunchroom. As soon as they're out of earshot, Hide drops his grip on Haise and crosses his arms.

"What was that?!"

"Huh?"

 _"Fireworks?!"_

"Oh, right. She asked me if I had anything worth blackmailing you for. It was the first thing I could think of."

"We were supposed to meet at the café! What were you thinking—coming into the CCG?! You're a—well, I'm not going to say what you are in front of the cameras."

Haise shrugs, unconcerned. "I had business here anyway. I thought it would be more convenient for you."

Hide pauses as a previous thought catches up to him. "Speaking of which, _how_ did you get past the front door sensors? They're supposed to pick up any elevated Rc cell readings in anyone who tries to visit."

"Arima-san gave me clearance so I could return books to him," Haise reconfirms what the security guards had mentioned earlier. "I don't know the specifics, but it shows that I'm a regular human when I pass through the door. It makes returning books much easier!"

Hide's eye twitches. _Is this a library or a ghoul extermination agency?_ Still, the fact that he can joke again makes him feel much better. _Maybe I was overreacting. I can't believe_ I _was more stressed about a ghoul infiltrating the CCG than_ he _was._

He grins at Haise before shaking his head. _Of all the ghouls to pick, I found the one with maximum security clearance._ He still isn't sure if he got lucky or not. He quickens the pace to his office, just in case.

"Well, we might as well get started here then. If you're okay with that, of course."

Haise nods once then twice, trailing after Hide as he strides towards his desk. "What do you want me to do?"

"First, you have to learn everything you can about the Anteiku case."

Haise's brow wrinkles. "What about you?"

"Oh, uh… I'm already pretty well versed on it. I was there during the final raid, you know."

"Really?"

"Uhm, yeah. It's a story for another day though." Hide quickly changes the subject, reaching for a worn folder and passing it to Haise. "Here. This is some background knowledge about the 20th Ward where Anteiku was. Are you familiar with it?" Haise considers the name before shaking his head. "Alright, then it should be a good start. You can sit at my desk and I'll be right back."

Haise nods before bending his head over the wrinkled papers. Hide watches him for a moment before slipping away. He's off to capture a few more verbal accounts of Eyepatch.

* * *

The names and stories he reads about aren't familiar to him, but he supposes that's only to be expected. Although he's lived in the 20th Ward since his reintroduction to society, Haise notices with a twist of the lips how _little_ he's explored his own home. It's a bit of an embarrassing realization that most of his trips "out" consist of the little café across from the CCG and the local bookstores.

 _I don't even know where half these places are, much less any of the things that happened there! Like, this elementary school—Kasahara Elementary? And a_ hospital _? What happened there?!_

Haise takes a moment to rub at his eyes. If he had known he would have been reading so much, he would have packed his glasses. He isn't sure what Hide's plan is, but this little history and geography lesson alone is draining his energy.

 _Let's go through that part of town again, starting at where Anteiku is._ He glares at the map, unblinking, until the image is burned into his memory. He closes his eyes and tries to mentally sketch the area.

 _So, next to Anteiku there was another restaurant that was destroyed by the fire. And across from it was…was…_ Haise pauses, gnawing on his lip and refusing to peek at the map.

He gives up and glances down, but frowns.

 _A bakery? That doesn't sound right. I could have sworn it was a bookstore._

Haise pushes the map to the side with a soft sigh. He's had enough of squiggly lines and compass keys for the time being. He decides to go back to reading over the ward's history. He starts with a hefty report about the death of a few investigators several months prior to the raid.

"Hey! What are you doing at Nagachika-kun's desk?"

Haise jerks backwards at the loud voice in his ear. He blinks up at a pouting brunet with crossed arms.

"Uhm…"

"And what are you doing looking at those records? Aren't they confidential?"

"I…uh…"

"Where's your badge?" He narrows his eyes, pinning Haise with a suspicious scowl. "Just who are you anyway?"

"I'm a friend of Hide's," Haise finally manages to squeak out.

"Huh? Hide? Oh, right. Nagachika-kun's nickname."

"We went to college together and I'm…thinking about transferring to his ward for work."

The brunet's harsh expression immediately softens. "Oh! You must be who Mado-san was talking about then. It's nice to meet any friend of Nagachika-kun's." He extends his arm and Haise hesitantly shakes it.

"Haise Sasaki."

"Takizawa Seidou."

His grip is firm, but nowhere near as intense as Hide's was. Haise supposes formalities and contracts deserve separate strengths.

"We worked together before Nagachika-kun was promoted to a desk job. He used to be our assistant when he first started out here. Does he still make terrible coffee?"

"I wouldn't know." Haise scratches the back of his head and chuckles weakly. "I'm too embarrassed to keep asking Hide, but when exactly did he start working here?"

Takizawa hums as he considers the question. "Oh, maybe a few years ago. He came on right before a ton of big raids happened. I remember, because there were plenty of opportunities for promotion after that, but I guess he wasn't interested in that kind of thing, since he stayed with us for a while." He shrugs noncommittally.

 _Big raids, huh?_

"Did you happen to participate in the Anteiku raid too then? I, uh, saw it all over the news when it happened."

Haise hopes Takizawa doesn't catch him in a lie. It's risky, making up stories to gain new information, but he supposes he's technically following Hide's orders.

"Yeah, I did. It was a close call though. A ghoul would have ripped my arm off if Amon-san and Mado-san hadn't been there to save me." Takizawa mashes his lips together and rolls his eyes. "I mean, I probably could have saved myself though, so it wasn't a big deal."

"Was Hide there too?" Haise can't stop his curiosity. "I've heard him mention it before."

Takizawa wrinkles his brow as he tries to remember. "I'm not sure what happened with him. He wasn't supposed to be there, since he was still an investigation's assistant, but we found out later that he had been admitted to the infirmary for a serious injury."

 _Serious injury? He didn't mention anything about that earlier._

Haise's eyebrows dart upwards and he's tempted to coax Takizawa into divulging more about the raid. However, Takizawa swiftly closes up, crossing his arms while the suspicious scowl returns.

"I'm not sure how much I should be telling you. This is pretty confidential information. Nagachika-kun's being a bit irresponsible if he's sharing CCG secrets with civilians."

Haise blinks before nodding. "I completely understand. I wouldn't want to get you in trouble."

Takizawa forces a firm expression before it crumbles into a grudging smile. "Yeah, yeah. Anyway, I have to go, but let Nagachika-kun know I stopped by."

"Will do!"

Takizawa plants his hands on his hips and studies Haise before shaking his head. "Hopefully we'll meet again. It would be nice to learn more about Nagachika when he was younger."

Haise offers a watery smile. _I wouldn't know anything about that either._

Takizawa waves before disappearing around the corner. Haise returns to his records.

* * *

When Hide returns sometime later, Haise is grateful for the chance to unfold himself out from behind the desk. He couldn't imagine doing Hide's job for days on end.

 _Maybe that's what caused him to take on this case._ He spares a sour glare at the pile of maps and reports. _So far it feels like a lot of dead ends and a big headache._

"Ready to work for the CCG now?"

Haise responds with a loud sigh as he flips the folder lid closed.

"Ahaha, I'll take that as a no. Did you at least learn anything about your home ward?"

Haise nods, ordering the more relevant facts in his mind. He doubts Hide wants to know the number of bookstores in the 20th Ward.

(Five. The number seems wrong, but he isn't sure why.)

"Did you know that Anteiku had been in business for nearly thirty years before the raid occurred?"

"Huh, really?" Haise watches as Hide shuffles through his bag, shoving in crumpled pieces of paper and folders alike.

"Also, Kanou General Hospital was suspected to have some involvement in the creation of half-ghouls before the facilities were shut down."

Hide wags a finger at Haise before cramming more files into his bag. "That's definitely an important one to know. According to our records, Dr. Kanou has been missing for years. _Highly_ suspicious."

"Oh, and someone named Takizawa came by to say hi."

Hide blinks at the unexpected statement. "You didn't tell him about the fireworks too, did you? I _do_ have a reputation to uphold here."

Haise shakes his head with a smile, a bit pleased that Hide remembered the silly detail. "No, we didn't talk much." He neglects to mention their discussion on the Anteiku raid, but it reminds Haise to watch Hide's movements more carefully. Maybe he will notice the evidence of a previous injury.

"You _didn't_ talk much? That's odd for Seidou." Hide claps his hands with another wide grin. "Look at that—first day and you've already made friends. The only one left to meet is Amon-san." He pauses as a thought crosses his mind.

"Actually, you know what? Forget I said anything. Let's _not_ meet Amon-san."

* * *

As they pass through the CCG front doors, Haise hesitates before asking if he could walk with Hide. Hide takes the request in stride, bouncing his head as he sets off towards the station.

"Uh huh, not a problem!" He shoots Haise a sly smile. "I know you feel safer with a big, bad CCG agent watching your back."

"Huh? Where?" With the side of his hand pressed to his forehead in a mock visor, Haise glances around him. "I only see you."

"Yeah, yeah. Go ahead, make jokes, but I'll ditch you if some guy tries to mug you." Hide crosses his arms and tries to force a gruff expression, but his shaking shoulders betray him. He quickly gives up the act and his infectious grin returns.

Haise returns the expression, feeling a warmth spread throughout his chest.

"Alright, you got me there. I'm nowhere near as intimidating as Arima-san or Amon-san."

Upon the mention of Arima, Haise is reminded of the precious few relationships he has with others. Subconsciously, he realizes, he had always been cautious of his past self re-emerging, so he had avoided interacting with strangers who could accidentally unleash memories. Now he feels like he's openly defying that fear, working with Hide to recover his stolen past. As he reflects on his conversations with Hide's coworkers, he discovers that he's grateful for the chance at a monotonous day at the office.

After a comfortable pause, Haise breaks the silence between them.

"The reason I wanted to go this way was to see some of the landmarks I read about today. Isn't the old Anteiku shop down this way? Maybe seeing it will…spark something?"

"Gotcha! That's a really good idea. There's a couple other places from the report here too. For example, just around the corner is a _greaaat_ restaurant with the best burgers. I'll have to take yo—" Hide cuts off with an embarrassed mash of the lips. "Oh, I'm sorry. I forgot for a second that you wouldn't like it much."

 _You forgot that I can't eat human food?_ Haise finds himself unexpectedly pleased by Hide's mistake. _Did you forget I'm a monster?_

"Maybe they'll have coffee there," Haise gently adds for Hide's benefit. They fall back into another silence as they continue down the sidewalk. As they round the corner, Haise freezes mid-stride at the sight of a bakery on opposite side of the street. Ignoring the pulsing red light and sound of angry horns, Haise listlessly steps into the street, almost if he were caught in a trance.

Hide pivots upon hearing the aggressive horns and rushes into traffic after him, giving Haise a forceful shove that sends them both tumbling to the sidewalk.

"-ey! -ear me?!"

Haise blinks and shakes his head, dislodging the fog clouding his senses. Hide rests a hand on Haise's shoulder, shaking him softly.

"Huh?"

"What were you thinking? You just walked right into traffic!" Hide climbs to his feet and pulls Haise upwards with an outstretched hand.

"Are you okay?"

He glances at the bakery sign and makes a face at Haise's strained expression. Haise slowly reaches up and presses his fingertips against the cool glass.

"I thought you didn't have much of a sweet tooth?"

"No, I'm not hungry. It's just…strange."

"What is?"

"It's probably nothing, but I could have sworn this place was a bookstore—not a bakery."

Hide studies his face before holding up a finger. "Wait here—I'll be back in a second." He quirks an eyebrow. "And try not to wander off into traffic again."

He disappears through the glass doors. Haise watches him through the window as he circumvents a few pastry displays on his way to the front counter. He speaks excitedly with an employee before reappearing.

"Well, that was certainly strange."

"What?"

Hide juts his thumb at the man sitting behind the counter. "That guy said he's the owner of this bakery. I asked him when his shop first moved in and he said a couple years ago."

Haise slumps his shoulders, disappointed by his failed intuitions. "Oh. So the reports were right."

"Hold up—that wasn't the weird part. I think you were on to something, sleepwalking aside. He also said he bought the store from a woman who used to sell books in there. Apparently she lost a lot of business or something and had to close shop." Hide twists his upper body around to reach back in his satchel and ruffles through some of his stolen papers. "These maps on the 20th Ward weren't really made until several of the major ranking ghouls were spotted here, so it's entirely possible that we missed the bookstore because it had already become the bakery. You were right, technically."

Hide tilts his head, studying Haise more intently.

"How did you know? This would have happened before you lost your memories."

Haise freezes, caught off guard by the realization. "I…I don't know?" He cups his chin in thought as his blank gaze glazes over the painted cakes. They look beautiful, masking the revolting taste underneath.

"Was it a guess? Anteiku is nearby, right? Coffee shops and bookstores go well together?"

"Yeah, maybe."

He feels so uncertain and uncomfortable, but Hide keeps pushing further. Haise's head throbs and he feels guilty for wanting Hide to shut up.

"Haise, are you sure you don't remember anything else about your past life? About the 20th Ward?"

Haise shakes his head once, then twice before rubbing at his aching eye sockets. They agree to visit Anteiku another day.

* * *

 **Thanks for reading**


End file.
